If your child studies in a CBSE school, the language question for 2026-27 has two parts: which three languages your child studies, and how the third is tested. The answer depends on the class. This explainer sets out what CBSE's own circulars say for each class, so that you can check your child's school timetable against them.
It is based on CBSE Circular Acad-49/2026, dated 10 July 2026, and on the Board's press release of 29 June 2026. It reflects the CBSE Academic website as it stood on 3 October 2026. No circular listed there after Acad-49 deals with languages.
What the rule says
CBSE points to the National Education Policy 2020, which recommends learning three languages, with at least two native to India. Native languages are called Bhartiya Bhashas in the circular, and the examples it gives include Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia and Assamese. English, French, German, Arabic and Spanish are listed as non-native.
The scheme is simple on paper. Two of the three languages must be Bhartiya Bhashas. A non-native language can be the third language, called R3, as long as the other two are Bhartiya Bhashas. The circular adds relaxations for the transition years.
What changes for your child
Class X in 2026-27. Nothing. This batch continues with two languages and does not need a third.
Class IX. Every student studies three languages, with at least two Bhartiya Bhashas. The circular gives three examples. A child already studying two Bhartiya Bhashas, such as Hindi and Tamil, can pick either another Bhartiya Bhasha or a non-native language such as English or French as the third. A child studying one Bhartiya Bhasha and one non-native language, such as Tamil and English, can choose any Bhartiya Bhasha as R3. A child studying two non-native languages, such as English and French, may keep both as a one-time relaxation but must add one Bhartiya Bhasha.
For this batch, R3 is assessed by the school alone. There will be no CBSE board examination in the third language when the batch reaches Class X in 2027-28. One condition matters for parents. The student must still clear R3 in the school-based assessment in Class X to receive the Secondary School Examination pass certificate. A Class IX child who does not clear it is still promoted but has to clear the Class IX R3 assessment while in Class X, and the school must reassess a student who is unable to qualify before the Class X result is declared. Class IX students keep the three-language combination they had in Class VIII.
Classes VII and VIII. These students will study three languages in Classes IX and X as well. Those who have already chosen two non-native languages need to study one Bhartiya Bhasha and continue with it to Class X. The third language is assessed internally, and there is no board examination in it for these batches.
Class VI. Two of three languages must be Bhartiya Bhashas for this batch and those after it. When these students reach Class X, they will take a board examination in R3. R3 textbooks for Class VI in the 22 scheduled languages are to be made available on the NCERT website.
What parents should do now
Ask the class teacher which three languages your child is listed under and which one is R3. CBSE's circular Acad-17/2026 of 9 April required schools to record their R3 choices in the OASIS portal, and its follow-up, Acad-25/2026 of 4 May, set 31 May for schools that had not done so. Only those R3 languages a school introduces in Class VI will be available as options in Classes IX and X in that school, so a Class VI parent should ask early what is on offer.
Check the combination against the three situations above. If your child is in Class IX, ask when the school will hold the R3 assessment and how reassessment will work. If the family is moving to another state, the circular allows a child to carry the existing language combination into Class IX, and schools are told to arrange resources for that choice.
Some children are exempt. These are children with special needs under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, students in CBSE schools outside India, and foreign students returning to India. The circular says no student should be disadvantaged by the change. Schools with doubts may write to cq26-27@cbseshiksha.in, the address the circular gives for clarifications.
